Add President Barack Obama to the list of people asking why an Army soldier accused of leaking classified information is being required to strip naked on a nightly basis at a Marine Corps brig.

Private Bradley Manning has formally complained that guards at the brig in Quantico, Va., have harassed him, and commanders there have punished him since he was placed in custody in July. Manning, 25, faces a possible court martial for allegedly leaking hundreds of thousands of military reports and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks.

Earlier this month, guards began demanding that he strip off all his clothes at night. Defense officials have suggested that the measure was needed to keep Manning from attempting suicide. But Manning’s official complaint notes that Navy psychiatrists who have examined him don’t believe he’s a suicide risk.

When asked about Manning’s treatment at a news conference Friday, Obama said he looked into the matter himself.

“I have actually asked the Pentagon whether or not the procedures that have been taken in terms of his confinement are appropriate and are meeting our basic standards,” the president answered. “They assured me that they are.”

Obama never said explicitly whether he agreed with the military’s protocol with Manning — including a 23-hour-a-day lockdown in his cell. But the president suggested Manning’s well-being is a factor in his treatment.

“I can’t go into details about some of their concerns, but some of this has to do with Private Manning’s safety as well,” Obama said.

The question reached the president after the State Department’s top spokesman, Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley, bluntly challenged the military’s treatment of Manning.

“I spent 26 years in the Air Force,” Crowley, who retired as a colonel, said during a discussion at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Thursday. “What is happening to Manning is ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid, and I don’t know why the DoD is doing it. Nevertheless, Manning is in the right place.”

Journalist Philippa Thomas and Internet researcher Ethan Zuckerman, who both were at the conference, reported Crowley’s comments.

Thomas said she later asked Crowley if his remarks were on the record. She said he had a one-word reply: “‘Sure.’”

Crowley didn’t respond Friday to POLITICO’s requests for comment. However, he confirmed the comments to Foreign Policy magazine.

“What I said was my personal opinion. It does not reflect an official [U.S. government] policy position,” Crowley is quoted as saying. “I defer to the Department of Defense regarding the treatment of Bradley Manning.”

Crowley’s comments drew attention not only because of his public disagreement with the Pentagon, but because he has previously taken a hard line in public against WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange.

Crowley’s remark that Manning “is in the right place” suggested that, despite his reservations about the prisoner’s treatment, the State Department spokesman still has little sympathy for Manning’s alleged conduct.

A Defense Department spokesman declined to comment Friday on Crowley’s statement. However, another spokesman contacted POLITICO on Saturday to say the Pentagon had reached out to Crowley.

“We are aware of Mr. Crowley’s remarks and have since sent him the facts on PFC Manning’s pre-trial confinement,” Army Col. Dave Lapan said.

On Thursday, Manning’s defense lawyer released his client’s latest complaint about his treatment, an 11-page memo that claimed he’s being improperly held on a “prevention of injury” status and also being forced to strip at night. The complaint said he was recently given a “smock” to wear at night, but is still required to remove all his clothing.

“The determination to strip me of my clothing every night since 2 March 2011 is without justification and therefore constitutes unlawful pretrial punishment,” Manning wrote. He said Navy psychiatrists have repeatedly recommended lifting the restrictions but brig commanders have declined.

The order for Manning to strip at night apparently followed what he described as a sarcastic comment he made to guards — that if he were intent on strangling himself, he could use his underwear or flip-flops.

“As the result of concerns for PFC Manning’s personal safety, his undergarments were taken from him during sleeping hours,” Lapan confirmed. “PFC Manning at all times had a bed and a blanket to cover himself. He was not made to stand naked for morning count but, but on one day, he chose to do so. There were no female personnel present at the time. PFC Manning has since been issued a garment to sleep in at night.”

A Navy spokesman wouldn’t discuss any disagreement between doctors and Quantico officials, but said the psychiatrists don’t have final say about Manning’s treatment.

“It’s the brig commander’s responsibility to make sure these detainees make it to court,” the spokesman, Lt. Brian Villiard, told POLITICO. “The psychiatric professionals provide advice, but the ultimate decision is made by the commander, who receives input from more than just psychologists. … They also take into account what the Marines see on a daily basis as well as historical documents.”

Manning’s complaint — the first document related to the case publicly released by the WikiLeaks suspect’s defense — indicates that he may have had serious mental issues while he was being held in Kuwait soon after his arrest last May. The complaint says that his “behavior in Kuwait” led to “adequate treatment” that resolved those problems. No other details were offered.

One prominent psychiatrist contacted who reviewed Manning’s complaint at POLITICO’s request said the military’s treatment of the Army private was troubling.

“In my 40 years of hospital psychiatric practice, I’ve never heard of something like this,” said Dr. Steven Sharfstein, a former president of the American Psychiatric Association. “In some very unusual circumstances, when people are intensely suicidal, you might put them in a hospital gown. … But it’s very, very unusual to be in that kind of suicide watch for this long a period of time.”

If Manning were treated this way in a civilian hospital, ” the mental health law people would come down on you like a ton of bricks,” said Sharfstein, president and CEO of the Sheppard Pratt Health System in Maryland.

Sharfstein also said he was disturbed that military officials seemed to be defying the recommendations of mental health professionals. “He’s been examined by psychiatrists who said he’s he’s not suicidal. … They are making medical judgments in the face of a medical evaluations to the contrary,” the doctor said.